Reverting to an older version of Android? (HTC One M8)

[Miek]

I downloaded the Android 5.0.1 update yesterday, but it still feels really half-baked and a lot of my apps (especially my messaging app) freeze, lag, or otherwise run very slowly. I want to know if there is a way I can revert to Android 4.4.4, what I had before the update. I've found plenty of guides on how to revert on stock Android (Nexus) devices, but nothing for my specific phone. All I've found is some custom ROMs, but I was hoping to go back to exactly what I had or very close to it.

 

Since I would most likely need to root my device to do this, maybe I'd be better off with a custom version of Android? Or, should I just wait for updates?

[wevsspot]

Who is your carrier?  There are really quite a few options / answers to your question.

 

Many custom ROMs are rock solid (especially the CM ROMs for your particular phone / carrier).

 

If you don't already know about them - the XDA Developers website is the world's leading authority on all things Android devices IMHO.

[Miek]

I'm on SaskTel (pro tip: the suck, and I'll be leaving them when my contract ends). I guess I should check out XDA then.

[El_Capitan]

What phone do you have? If it's a Samsung, you can restore the stock ROM using Odin.

 

If you ever want to preview a new version of Android, I highly recommend using an emulator like GenyMotion (my favorite so far) or Bluestacks.

[El_Capitan]

Sorry, didn't see the title of the thread, apparently.

 

For Sasktel HTC One M8, extract recovery.img from the firmware.zip file which is inside the OTA zip file and flash that.

 

This thread should help:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2694297&highlight=sasktel